Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF) and Marathon Patent Group (NASDAQ:MARA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, risk, institutional ownership and earnings.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
67.1% of Jefferies Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 4.0% of Marathon Patent Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.8% of Jefferies Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.1% of Marathon Patent Group shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Jefferies Financial Group and Marathon Patent Group's top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio |
---|
Jefferies Financial Group | $6.01 billion | 1.21 | $775.24 million | $2.65 | 10.96 |
Marathon Patent Group | $1.18 million | 1,625.90 | $-3,520,000.00 | ($0.53) | -56.89 |
Jefferies Financial Group has higher revenue and earnings than Marathon Patent Group. Marathon Patent Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Jefferies Financial Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares Jefferies Financial Group and Marathon Patent Group's net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets |
---|
Jefferies Financial Group | 13.67% | 8.88% | 1.63% |
Marathon Patent Group | -319.69% | -48.25% | -42.06% |
Risk & Volatility
Jefferies Financial Group has a beta of 1.46, meaning that its stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Marathon Patent Group has a beta of 4.33, meaning that its stock price is 333% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Jefferies Financial Group and Marathon Patent Group, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score |
---|
Jefferies Financial Group | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.00 |
Marathon Patent Group | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
Jefferies Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $26.50, indicating a potential downside of 8.75%. Marathon Patent Group has a consensus price target of $30.00, indicating a potential downside of 0.50%. Given Marathon Patent Group's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Marathon Patent Group is more favorable than Jefferies Financial Group.
Summary
Jefferies Financial Group beats Marathon Patent Group on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.